Visa Requirements

All international students who are not citizens of member states of the EU are obliged to get a student visa if they plan to study in the Czech Republic.

The visa application process might take up to 60 days (in case some documents are missing, even longer), therefore apply for it as soon as you receive visa document confirming the purpose of stay as well as the document confirming accommodation (both written in Czech).

Full information can be found via the website of the Ministry of Interior (linked from the pages mentioned above as well).

(Application for long-term residence permit can be filed via a Czech consulate/embassy, and after arrival, the already approved residence permit is issued at the regional office of the Ministry of Interior – "Immigration Office".)

See the above mentioned pages for more information. Briefly: both long-term visa and long-term residence permit require you submit the application for it plus the following: a valid passport, two photographs, confirmation of acceptance (confirming the purpose of the stay), proof of accommodation, proof of financial means (a document confirming the availability of funds to cover the costs of your stay in the territory in case of university studies or unpaid practical professional training; in all other cases a document confirming that the costs of your stay are covered by the local host organization; we will give advice to scholarship holders and exchange students). Usually required: criminal record transcript from your home country + countries where you had spent more than 6 months within the last 3 years. Sometimes required: medical examination.

The estimated amount of money necessary for 6 months – example: It is necessary to prove the availability of funds that are 15 times the amount of the existential minimum (currently it is set at 2200 CZK for 2012) for the first month and double the amount of the existential minimum for every month afterwards, thus, for instance, for a stay from 1 January – 30 June it would be (15x2200) + (5x2x2200) = 33 000 + 22 000 = 55 000 CZK. A foreign national that is under 18 years proves the availability of half the amount.